GPS-based vehicle warning and location system and method

ABSTRACT

An emergency vehicle alert system includes a first GPS receiving unit provided on the emergency vehicle that determines emergency vehicle location information of the emergency vehicle; a transmitter unit provided on the emergency vehicle that transmits the emergency vehicle location information by way of an emergency vehicle location signal; a second GPS receiving unit provided on the motor vehicle that determines vehicle location information of the motor vehicle; a receiver unit provided on the motor vehicle that receives the emergency location signal output by the transmitter unit of the emergency vehicle; and a map display that displays a current location of the motor vehicle and a current location of the emergency vehicle. The emergency vehicle is shown as an icon on the map, whereby the icon has a different visual characteristic depending on the position of the emergency vehicle with respect to the motor vehicle.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation-In-Part (CIP) of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 10/347,364, filed on Jan. 21, 2003.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providingGPS based vehicle warning and location information to a vehicleoperator.

2. Description of the Related Art

Emergency vehicles need to travel quickly and safely through traffic inorder to get to a destination. Conventional emergency vehicles useeither sirens or emergency lights, or both, in order to get to thedestination quickly and safely. It is often the case that a driver whois on the same road or a nearby road as the emergency vehicle is notmade aware of the emergency vehicle's presence. This may be the casewhen the driver has poor hearing, is listening to the car radio, is onhis or her car phone, etc. When this occurs, it may result in adangerous situation when the emergency vehicle approaches the unawaredriver, which may result in the driver causing an accident with theemergency vehicle or with another nearby vehicle on the road.

Also, when an emergency vehicle comes to an intersection, it isimportant that all vehicles approaching the intersection in differentdirections are made aware of the approaching emergency vehicle. Again,some drivers may not be aware of the sirens and emergency lights of theemergency vehicle, and this may result in an accident occurring with theemergency vehicle and/or other vehicles at or near the intersection.

There have been some solutions proposed to address this problem. Onesolution has been to use optical detectors at an intersection thatdetect light signals emitted from an approaching emergency vehicle,whereby the optical detectors would manipulate the traffic signal foroncoming traffic. One drawback to this solution is the lack of warningwhen an emergency vehicle is coming from behind a motor vehicle.

Another solution has been to use a radar detector, which would detect asignal transmitted from an emergency vehicle. One drawing to thissolution is that false triggering of the radar may result in a driverturning off the radar detector out of frustration. Furthermore, thelocation and distance of the emergency vehicle would not be madeavailable to the driver with this solution.

Yet another solution is to have the emergency vehicle transmit a radiofrequency (RF) signal at a predetermined frequency or frequency range.In this case, each motor vehicle would be equipped with an RF receiverwhich would receive the RF signal output by the emergency vehicle whenthe emergency vehicle is traveling to its destination. A furtherenhancement to this solution would be to utilize GPS in order to provideinformation as to the location of the emergency vehicle relative to themotor vehicle, whereby that information would be used by amicrocontroller in order to determine the location of the emergencyvehicle with respect to the driver's vehicle. The emergency vehicle'slocation would be displayed at the motor vehicle by way of one of fourindicator lamps that are in the driver's view area (e.g., on thedashboard). Actuation of a first lamp would indicate that the emergencyvehicle was somewhere ahead of the driver's vehicle, actuation of asecond lamp would indicate that the emergency vehicle was somewhere tothe left of the driver's vehicle, actuation of a third lamp wouldindicate that the emergency vehicle was somewhere to the right of thedriver's vehicle, and actuation of a fourth lamp would indicate that theemergency vehicle was somewhere behind the driver's vehicle.

The above solution using both GPS signals and an RF transmitter and RFreceiver is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,339,382, issued to DonaldArbinger et al., which is incorporated in its entirety herein byreference. However, even with the Arbinger et al. solution, a driver isnot provided precise information as to the exact location of theemergency vehicle, and so the driver may not choose the best streets totravel through in order to evade the emergency vehicle and to evade thesnarled traffic that typically occurs on streets that the emergencyvehicle travels on.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided an emergencyvehicle alert system for providing information as to a location of anemergency vehicle to a motor vehicle. The system includes a first GPSreceiving unit that is provided on said emergency vehicle and that isconfigured to receive at least three different GPS signals from at leastdifferent GPS satellites and to determine emergency vehicle locationinformation of said emergency vehicle as a result thereof. The systemalso includes a radio-wave transmitter unit that is provided on saidemergency vehicle and that is configured to transmit said emergencyvehicle location information by way of an emergency vehicle locationsignal that includes said emergency vehicle location information. Thesystem further includes a second GPS receiving unit that is provided onsaid motor vehicle and that is configured to receive at least threedifferent GPS signals from at least three different GPS satellites andto determine vehicle location information of said motor vehicle as aresult thereof. The system still further includes a radio-wave receiverunit that is provided on said motor vehicle and that is configured toreceive the emergency location signal output by said radio-wavetransmitter unit of said emergency vehicle. The system also includes amap display that is provided on said motor vehicle and that isconfigured to display, on a map that includes a plurality of streetlocations provided thereon, a current location of said motor vehicle asprovided by the vehicle location information, and the map displayconfigured to display, on the map, a current location of said emergencyvehicle as provided by the emergency vehicle location informationobtained from the emergency vehicle location signal received by saidradio-wave receiver unit when said radio-wave receiver unit is inradio-wave communication range with respect to said radio-wavetransmitter unit.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided anemergency vehicle that provides a warning indication to other vehicles.The emergency vehicle includes a GPS receiving unit that is configuredto receive at least three different GPS signals from at least differentGPS satellites and to determine emergency vehicle location informationof said emergency vehicle as a result thereof. The emergency vehiclealso includes a radio-wave transmitter unit that is configured totransmit said emergency vehicle location information by way of anemergency vehicle location signal that includes said emergency vehiclelocation information. The emergency vehicle further includes aradio-wave receiving unit that is configured to receive radio-wavesignals from at least one other emergency vehicle that includeinformation as to a current location of the at least one other emergencyvehicle. The emergency vehicle still further includes a controller thatis configured to determine a latitude and longitude position of saidemergency vehicle based on the at least three different GPS signals, andto determine a latitude and longitude position of said at least oneother emergency vehicle based on the received radio-wave signals. Theemergency vehicle also includes a map display that is configured todisplay, on a map that includes a plurality of street locations providedthereon, a current location of said emergency vehicle and said at leastone other emergency vehicle.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, there is provided anemergency vehicle alert system that is provided on a motor vehicle. Thesystem includes a GPS receiving unit that is configured to receive atleast three different GPS signals from at least different GPS satellitesand to determine vehicle location information of said motor vehicle as aresult thereof. The system also includes a radio-wave receiver unit thatis configured to receive an emergency vehicle location signal output byan emergency vehicle. The system further includes a map display that isconfigured to display, on a map that includes a plurality of streetlocations provided thereon, a current location of said motor vehicle asprovided by the vehicle location information as determined by said GPSreceiving unit, and the Map display configured to display, on the map, acurrent location of said emergency vehicle as obtained from theemergency vehicle location signal received by said radio-wave receiverunit when said radio-wave receiver unit is in radio-wave communicationrange with respect to said emergency vehicle.

According still yet another aspect of the invention, there is providedan emergency vehicle alert method that provides information as to alocation of an emergency vehicle to a motor vehicle. the method includesreceiving, by said emergency vehicle, at least three different GPSsignals from at least different GPS satellites, and determiningemergency vehicle location information of said emergency vehicle as aresult thereof. The method also includes transmitting, by said emergencyvehicle, said emergency vehicle location information by way of anemergency vehicle location signal. The method further includesreceiving, by said motor vehicle, at least three different GPS signalsfrom at least three different GPS satellites, and determining vehiclelocation information of said motor vehicle as a result thereof. Themethod still further includes receiving, when the motor vehicle iswithin a predetermined distance of said emergency vehicle, the emergencylocation signal output by said emergency vehicle. The method alsoincludes displaying, on a map that includes a plurality of streetlocations provided thereon, a) a current location of said motor vehicleas provided by the vehicle location information, and b) a currentlocation of said emergency vehicle as obtained from said emergencyvehicle location signal.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the present invention will become more fully apparentfrom the following detailed description when read in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings with like reference numerals indicatingcorresponding parts throughout, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing elements utilized in an emergency vehicle inaccordance with a first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing elements utilized in a motor vehicle inaccordance with the first embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a map display that may be provided to adriver of a motor vehicle, in accordance with the first embodiment ofthe invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a map display that may be provided to adriver of a motor vehicle, in accordance with a second embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 is a frequency plot of a notch filter that is utilized in anemergency vehicle, in accordance with a fourth embodiment of theinvention; and

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a map display that may be provided to adriver of a motor vehicle, in accordance with a fifth embodiment of theinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Different embodiments of the invention will be explained below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

Referring now to FIG. 1, an emergency vehicle unit 10 of an emergencyvehicle alert system is shown. The emergency vehicle alert systemincludes one or more emergency vehicle units, one or more motorvehicles, and a plurality of global positioning system (GPS) satellites100 that each output GPS signals 14. The emergency vehicle unit 10,which may be a fire truck, a school bus, or a police car, for example,includes an emergency GPS antenna 16, an emergency GPS receiver 18, acontroller 19, an RF transmitter 20, an emergency RF antenna 22, and anemergency power source 24. The emergency power source 24 supplieselectrical power to the electronic components in the emergency vehicleunit 10.

Referring now to FIG. 2, the motor vehicle unit 12 includes a vehicleGPS antenna 28, a vehicle GPS receiver 30, a vehicle RF antenna 32, avehicle RF receiver 34, a controller 36, a map display 38, and a vehiclepower source 40. The vehicle power source 40 supplies electrical powerto the electrical components in the motor vehicle unit 12.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the plurality of GPS satellites 100 outputrespective GPS signals 14, whereby the emergency GPS antenna 16 receivesat least three GPS signals 14 from the plurality of GPS satellites 100.The at least three GPS signals 14 are input to the emergency GPSreceiver 18. The emergency GPS receiver 18 triangulates the plurality ofGPS signals 14 into an emergency location signal string 15 which isdescribed by a particular longitude and latitude. The emergency locationsignal string 15 is input to the controller 19. The controller 19provides output to the RF transmitter 20, whereby that output istransmitted through the emergency RF antenna 22. The RF transmitter 20is preferably a low powered radio transmitter, which has a specific,exclusive bandwidth and that covers an area of approximately ½ mile inradius. The bandwidth exclusivity is desirable so that other RF signalsdo not interfere with the emergency vehicle's RF transmission, and withthe reception of that signal by one or more motor vehicle units.

The controller 19 provides a switch function for the emergency vehicle12, whereby when a sensor input signal 23 indicates that a warningsignal is to be output, the controller 19 passes the location signalstring 15 received from the GPS receiver 18 to the RF transmitter 20.One sensor input signal may be when a school bus activates its yellow orred lights, whereby only at those times will warning signals be outputfrom the school bus. Another sensor input signal may be when a policecar is traveling faster than a predetermined rate of speed (e.g., >65miles per hour) to catch a suspected criminal. Another input to thecontroller 19 is an override signal 24, which is used so as todeactivate the emergency warning system even when the sensor inputsignal 23 is in an active state. The override signal 24 may be used, forexample, when a police vehicle is on a car chase and does not want thecurrent location of the police vehicle to be known to other nearbyvehicles, since one of those nearby vehicles may very well be thevehicle of a suspected criminal that is being chased by the policevehicle.

Referring now to FIG. 2, each motor vehicle unit 12 that is within rangeof the emergency vehicle transmission will receive the emergencylocation signal string 15 through the vehicle RF antenna 32. The RFreceiver 34 takes the analog signal from the vehicle RF antenna 32, andtransforms it back into its original digital data string, which isprovided to the controller 36. The controller 36 utilizes thatinformation to determine the precise latitude and longitude of theemergency vehicle unit 10, in a manner known to those skilled in theart.

The vehicle GPS antenna 28 receives at least three GPS signals 14 fromthe plurality of GPS satellites 100 that are within its line of sight.The at least three different GPS signals 14 are input to the vehicle GPSreceiver 30, by way of the GPS antenna 28. The vehicle GPS receiver 30outputs a motor vehicle location signal string 42, which is received bythe controller 36. The controller 36 uses that information to determinethe precise latitude and longitude of the motor vehicle unit 12, in amanner known to those skilled in the art.

FIG. 3 shows a map display 300 that is displayed on the warning display38 according to a first embodiment of the invention, whereby the mapdisplay 300 provides, to a driver of the motor vehicle unit 12, both theprecise position of the emergency vehicle unit 10 and the preciseposition of the motor vehicle unit 12. The map display is a street mapshowing the street that the motor vehicle unit 12 is currently located,as well as the surrounding streets within a particular range. Forexample, the map display 300 may include a map of streets that arewithin a 3 mile radius of a point from where the motor vehicle unit 12is currently located. The map display 300 preferably has a feature inwhich it can be zoomed in or zoomed out by operator control, so that thedriver can get a better perspective as to the location of his/her motorvehicle unit 12 and the emergency vehicle unit 10, with respect to aparticular region.

FIG. 4 shows a map display 400 that is displayed on the warning display38 according to a second embodiment of the invention, whereby allelements except for the map display are the same as those described withrespect to the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the mapdisplay 400 shows a current location 410 of the emergency vehicle unit10, as well as the most previous location or locations 420 of theemergency vehicle unit 10. With that information, the driver of themotor vehicle unit 12 can determine a direction in which the emergencyvehicle unit 10 is heading, so that the driver of the motor vehicle unit12 can decide on a driving path in order to not get in the way of thedriving path of the emergency vehicle unit 10. The current location 410may be shown with a particular icon or color on the map display 400, inorder to easily distinguish it from the previous locations 420 that arealso shown on the map display 400. In FIG. 4, the previous locations 420are shown as dashed vehicle icons.

In either the first or second embodiments, the map display 300, 400 ispreferably a liquid crystal display (LCD), but other ways of displayingthe location of the emergency vehicle unit 10 and the motor vehicle unit12 on a road/street map may be utilized (e.g., cathode ray tubedisplay), while remaining within the scope of the invention as describedherein.

In a preferred implementation of the first and second embodiments, theemergency GPS antenna 16 is mounted permanently on all police, fire,ambulance, school buses and other types of emergency/public safetyequipment. The elements shown in FIG. 1 will preferably be runningconstantly when the emergency vehicle unit 10 is operating, and willhave a start up and continuous diagnostic cycle to insure properoperation. For example, the emergency vehicle unit 10 will beginbroadcasting RF signals when flashing lights are initiated in theemergency vehicle unit 10.

In a third embodiment of the invention, the emergency location signalstring 15 is output from one or more stationary locations that do notcorrespond to motor vehicles. For example, in the morning and in theafternoon when school children are walking to or from a school, a schoolcrosswalk will have an RF transmitter that broadcasts its preciselatitude and longitude information, so that motor vehicles can stayclear of this zone or approach the zone with caution while children arewalking on the street to and from the school. A similar feature can beutilized at a railroad crossing, and at locations (e.g., fire stations)where emergency vehicles enter traffic from their station locations, andat work zones on roadways in order to give drivers information regardingthe presence of workers and equipment on or near a road that the driveris either on or close to. The same would apply to rail maintenanceworkers, and crosswalks for handicapped individuals at designatedcrosswalks. This would allow adequate time for the handicapped to crossby using a portable sending unit and a timed sequence that can beadjusted.

In a fourth embodiment, which is a variation of the first and secondembodiments, the precise latitude and longitude of the emergency vehicleunit 12 will be constantly broadcast in a ½ mile radius, except in thecase of police vehicles or other types of emergency vehicles that mayhave to drive at high rates of speed, in which they will utilize a speedsensor that will automatically increase the radio transmission signalstrength cover a broader area (e.g., 1 mile radius), as needed, in orderto give motorists in their vicinity sufficient advance notice of theirapproach. FIG. 1 shows a dashed line 27 that corresponds to a speedsignal that is used to control the output power of the emergency RFtransmitter 20. The speed signal 27 is shown as a dashed line since itis not a part of the first embodiment, and is only used in the fourthembodiment. In cases where a police vehicle does not want his or hercurrent position know, such as in the case when the police vehicle ischasing a bank robber's getaway vehicle, the police vehicle has themeans to deactivate the emergency warning RF broadcast, by way of theoverride signal 24, so that the bank robber will not know the currentlocation of the police vehicle or vehicles that are trying to catch thebank robber.

Each motor vehicle unit 12 in any of the embodiments described above hasa map display, which is preferably an LCD screen that is provided on adashboard of the motor vehicle unit 12. The LCD screen is preferablycapable of mapping the entire continental United States, for a vehicleto be sold and used in the United States. That way, when the vehicle ismoved from one state to another, no changes need to be made in order toutilize the emergency vehicle warning and location system and method inthe other state. Of course, for other regions, such as Europe, acorresponding map having all street locations in Europe is installed inthe motor vehicle unit 12 for use in Europe. Preferably, the street/roadmaps are updated very two years, in order to reflect the current roadand street layout for a particular area.

The present invention is also useful when two or more emergencyvehicles, such as two police vehicles, are in the same area, such aswhen they are approaching the same intersection from differentdirections. In that case, using the system and method as describedabove, each police vehicle will be provided with current positioning ofthe other police vehicle, and so a potential collision can be greatlyavoided. Police cars in this instance will include all of the featuresshown in FIG. 1, as well as the RF Antenna 32 and the Map Display 38 asshown in FIG. 2 (in order to receive warning signals from other nearbyemergency vehicles).

Furthermore, the emergency vehicle will utilize a notch filter havingoutput signal versus frequency characteristics 500 as shown in FIG. 5.The notch filter will be provided along a communications path betweenthe RF antenna 32 and the RF receiver 34 of FIG. 2, whereby the notchfilter will notch out any RF transmissions made by the emergencyvehicle's own emergency warning system (centered at frequency f1 with anotch bandwidth of d), while at the same time passing through emergencysignals from other emergency vehicles that output RF warning signals atfrequencies other than the one used by the emergency vehicle.

In a preferred implementation, the warning display 38 of the differentembodiments described above will normally be blank, and will activatewhen emergency signals are detected. The system and method of thedifferent embodiments also may include an audio output, which willprovide synthesized speech that audibly notifies a driver where theemergency vehicle and/or other designation emergency locations (e.g.,handicapped road crossing, school crossing) are located and thedirection of movement of the emergency vehicle. In a preferredimplementation, the system operates whether or not the car radio isturned ON or OFF. If a car tapeplayer or car compact disk (CD) player iscurrently turned ON, the system according to the invention will overridethese other audio functions, so that the motorist is not distracted awayfrom a potential upcoming emergency situation. In one implementation,the system according to the invention is constantly in operation in astand-by mode when the motorist's vehicle is in operation (e.g., whenthe key in the ignition is engaged), whereby there is no need foroperator input to activate the system according to the invention. Thesynthesized speech provided to the motorist in order to audibly alertthe motorist of an emergency situation on the road is preferably outputthrough the radio speakers of the motor vehicle unit 12, or by separatespeakers in an alternative configuration. The GPS feature describedabove may incorporate navigational features as are currently availableon many models of private and business vehicles, whereby those featureswould automatically cancel whenever emergency vehicles are detected.

The frequency band allocated for the emergency vehicle RF transmissionsis preferably large enough in order to accommodate several differentemergency vehicles operating close to each other. For example, if theallocated frequency band is from 3.100 to 3.200 MHz, then 100 kHz offrequency bandwidth is available. If each emergency vehicle is allocateda 5 kHz emergency signal bandwidth (including guard band), then up to 20emergency vehicles can operate in close proximity to each other, withoutcausing any problems with respect to detection at a motor vehicle unit12 of the respective emergency signals output by these 20 emergencyvehicles. As one example, the particular frequency range utilized by anemergency vehicle may be randomly selected within the operatingfrequency band, in order to lessen the chance that two emergencyvehicles are operating in the exact same frequency range and areoperating very close to each other. Also, by using the notch filterhaving the input/output characteristics 500 as shown in FIG. 5, anemergency vehicle can output its own emergency signal while at the sametime receive emergency signals from other emergency vehicles (that areused to map the locations of those other emergency vehicles on a mapdisplay on a dashboard of the emergency vehicle).

A fifth embodiment of the invention will be described below, withreference to FIG. 6. The fifth embodiment is compatible with any of theprevious embodiments described above. The fifth embodiment provides amore overt warning to the motor vehicle operator when an emergencyvehicle is determined to be in an upcoming driving path of the motorvehicle operator, or vice versa. A control unit determines a currentroad on which a motor vehicle is located, based on GPS informationprovided to the control unit. The control unit also determines a currentroad on which an emergency vehicle in the vicinity of the motor vehicleis located, based on reception of RF signals from the emergency vehicleas described with respect to other embodiments discussed previously.Like the other embodiments, the location of the motor vehicle and theemergency vehicle are shown on a map display. However, unlike the otherembodiments, when it is determined that the motor vehicle is within aparticular range of the emergency vehicle (e.g., within ⅓ mile of theemergency vehicle) and when it is also determined that the motor vehicleis traveling on a same road as the emergency vehicle is located, or whenthere is a possibility that the emergency vehicle and the motor vehiclewill come to a same intersection from different roads. A logic circuit(part of the controller 36 in FIG. 2) determines, based on the currentlocation, speed and direction of travel of the motor vehicle and basedon the current location, speed and direction of travel of the emergencyvehicle, whether or not these two vehicles might approach the sameintersection at or near the same time. If this is the case, then in oneembodiment the map display will include a “red line” that connects themotor vehicle and the emergency vehicle on their respective streets tothe intersection where they may meet. For example, if the path of theemergency vehicle is perpendicular to the path of the motorist'svehicle, their intersection will be highlighted by a red line on the mapdisplay.

In one possible implementation, the screen display will be in color,whereby the emergency vehicle will be shown as a “delta shape”,preferably in red, with the delta point used to show the direction oftravel of the emergency vehicle. The motorist's vehicle would also beshown as a “delta shape:, but with a different color, such as green.That way, the motorist can readily identify his/her vehicle while at thesame time readily identify the emergency vehicle on the map display. Inthe case of fixed emergency locations, such as school zones orhandicapped crossings or road maintenance locations, these will be shownon the map display using a different type of icon (e.g., post) and usinga different color (e.g., blue). In any of these instances, when theemergency situation is passed (e.g., the emergency vehicle passesthrough the intersection in question from a different direction prior tothe motorist's vehicle coming to that same intersection), the “red line”is removed from the map display even though the RF transmission from theemergency vehicle is still being received and the “delta shape” icon forthe emergency vehicle is still being shown on the map display.

In another possible implementation, the map display includes ahighlighting feature in which an icon signifying the location of theemergency vehicle is shown in red, for example, while all of the otherfeatures on the map display are shown in a neutral color (e.g., black ona white background). With this implementation, the motor vehicleoperator is alerted in a more definitive manner when a potentialimminent situation is detected. For example, in FIG. 6, if the motorvehicle is at position 510A on Main Street and if the emergency vehicleis at position 12 on First Street on the map display 600, then nohighlighting of the emergency vehicle would be provided on the mapdisplay 600 in that case. However, if the motor vehicle is at position510B on First Street and if the emergency vehicle is at position 12 onFirst Street on the map display 600, then the emergency vehicle would behighlighted in red, for example, while the other portions of the mapdisplay would be in a more neutral color (e.g., black on a whitebackground). That way, the motor vehicle operator would be visuallyalerted as to the emergency vehicle in its immediate driving path, andwould not be visually alerted in other situations. In anotherpossibility, when the emergency vehicle is driving on the same road asthe motor vehicle and is behind the motor vehicle, whereby the emergencyvehicle is presumably driving at a faster rate of speed, a similar typeof “higher alerting” would be provided.

In another possible implementation of the fifth embodiment, the mapdisplay will provide a greater level of visual highlighting of thestreet or path that coincides with the path or the intersection point ofthe path of the receiving vehicle. The “red line” feature describedabove may be used to provide for an extra level of highlighting on themap display when the emergency vehicle is determined to be very close tothe motor vehicle, irrespective as to whether not the emergency vehicleand the motor vehicle are on the same road. For example, the emergencyvehicle icon will be highlighted in red, and will flash on the mapdisplay, when the emergency vehicle is determined to be within ¼ of amile of the motor vehicle.

Also, in an alternative configuration of the fifth embodiment, anaudible alarm is provided to the motor vehicle operator, which providesaudible information (by way of a speech synthesizer and speaker, forexample) as to where the emergency vehicle is currently located and thedirection the emergency vehicle is going (if it is moving). In the fifthembodiment, the motor vehicle operator is only given a greater warning(visually by way of a red indication on the map display, and/or audiblyby way of an alarm) as to a need to be alert to an imminent emergencysituation that the motor vehicle operator is very close to. That way,the motor vehicle operator does not need to constantly look at the mapdisplay, which may cause accidents to occur due to the motor vehicleoperator not paying full attention to driving.

Possible uses of the present invention are provided below. Emergencyoperators or patrolmen on duty are alerted to a location where they needassistance, or, in the case of patrolmen, they may have to stop atraffic violator. When their emergency vehicle warning systems areactivated (e.g., by turning on the warning lights on a police vehicle),their location is broadcast within a prescribed area. School bus driversactivate their yellow and then red lights to take on children or letthem off at school or at a bus stop near the children's' homes. Firehouses, police stations, etc., where vehicles frequently have to entertraffic, will have a permanently mounted transmitter to alter motoristsof traffic entering the roadway, so that the motorists can takeappropriate action. The permanently mounted transmitter at a firestation may be activated by opening the garage doors of the firestation, or by some other device that allows for manual operation of theRF emergency transmitter.

One possible scenario in which the present invention is useful isdescribed below. Fire station number 109 receives a call of a fire at1010 Locust Street, whereby one fire truck and one emergency medicaltechnician (EMT) team are needed. As the doors of the firehouse areopened, the permanently mounted transmitter in the street is activated.Motorists in the vicinity of the fire station have their LCD screenactivated with a map showing their location and the location of theemergency transmitter. A synthesized voice will warn each motorist that“Emergency vehicle entering roadway, ¼ mile ahead”. A motorist will lookat the map on his or her LCD screen, and will see that the location ofthe fire station is two blocks to his or her right. Based on thisinformation, the motorist will avoid the road which the fire station islocated on. The information provided on the LCD screen also can be usedto alert the motorist to handicapped crossings, roadway workers,railroad workers, and equipment on the road. In yet another embodiment,the system according to the invention would be used to controlnavigation on waterways in order to minimize possible collisions withother watercraft and to aid in the separation of watercraft on thewaterways. In yet another embodiment, the system according to theinvention would be used to provide for an aircraft anti-collisionsystem.

As the emergency vehicles enter traffic, they will begin broadcastingtheir locations. Motorists will be informed by their systems “Emergencytraffic ahead, ⅛ mile moving towards you”. Again, this may be two blocksto a motorists' right, but the system will show both the motorist'sprogress and the path of the emergency vehicles. If the emergencyvehicles turn onto the same street as a motorist, this will be shown onthat motorist's LCD screen, and a synthesized voice will say “Emergencytraffic ahead, on the right”. In certain embodiments described herein,the presence of the “red line” on the motorist's LCD screen will appearon the street being traveled, giving the motorist immediate confirmationthat he or she may be impacted by the path taken by the emergencyvehicle (the broadcasting vehicle). Additionally, the motorist may beprovided with an audio alert, such as one that states “Emergency vehicleahead, stationary.” Again, by looking at the LCD screen and/or bylistening to the audible warnings provided in the driver's compartment,the driver will know where to look for the patrolman in order to avoidan accident.

In case of school buses, when the driver starts the yellow lightsequence, the transmitter begins broadcasting a signal with itslocation, direction and an additional radio code that identifies thetransmitter as a school bus. A driver would hear “School bus ahead, ¼mile”, and the driver's map display would show both the bus location andthe driver's location, so that the driver can be aware of the situation.The “red line” appears if both vehicles are on the same street, or ifthey are approaching the same intersection from different streets.

In the case where transmitters are located at stationary locations, suchas timed crossings, a driver would hear “School zone ahead, ¼ mile”, andthe driver can take appropriate action to slow down. In yet anotherembodiment, the system according to the invention can be used in concertwith the “Amber Alert” system that currently provides drivers withinformation as to a vehicle (e.g., license plate and make and model ofvehicle) which may have a stolen child in the vehicle. In thisembodiment, when an Amber Alert is made, then that information isreceived by the motorist's vehicle (e.g., either via RF or cellulartransmissions), and the Amber Alert information is displayed on the mapdisplay of the vehicle as a text message. In one possibleimplementation, the Amber Alert would be displayed on the map display aslong as the vehicle is in operation (and as long as the vehicle isreceiving the Amber Alert information). In another possibleimplementation, the Amber Alter would be displayed on the map displayonly for a predetermined time period after receipt of this information,such as for 5 minutes. If the motorist later encountered the same AmberAlert at another location, that would not re-activate the display ofthis information on the map display, unless a portion of the Amber Alertinformation has changed from the previous display of that information onthe map.

While different embodiments have been described herein, modification ofthe described embodiments may become apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art, following the teachings of the invention, without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims. For example, the method and system according to the invention isapplicable to a completely digital communication system, whereby noanalog to digital conversion of information received over-the-air wouldbe required in that instance. Also, other frequency bands fortransmitting information over-the-air in a limited range, beyond the onedescribed above that uses the radio frequency range, may be utilized(e.g., infrared), while remaining within the scope of the invention.Furthermore, other possible communications means may be utilized toprovide emergency vehicle location information to a motor vehicleoperator, including Wi/Fi or cellular networks, whereby informationreceived by these communications paths would be received by the motorvehicle along with GPS information that is received by a GPS receiver ofthe motor vehicle.

1. An emergency vehicle alert system for providing information as to alocation of an emergency vehicle to a motor vehicle, the systemcomprising: a first GPS receiving unit that is provided on the emergencyvehicle and that is configured to receive at least three different GPSsignals from at least three different GPS satellites and to determineemergency vehicle location information of the emergency vehicle as aresult thereof; a transmitter unit that is provided on the emergencyvehicle and that is configured to transmit the emergency vehiclelocation information by way of an emergency vehicle location signal thatincludes the emergency vehicle location information; a second GPSreceiving unit that is provided on the motor vehicle and that isconfigured to receive at least three different GPS signals from at leastthree different GPS satellites and to determine vehicle locationinformation of the motor vehicle as a result thereof; a receiver unitthat is provided on the motor vehicle and that is configured to receivethe emergency location signal output by the transmitter unit of theemergency vehicle; and a map display, provided on the motor vehicle,that is configured to display, on a map, a current location of the motorvehicle as provided by the vehicle location information, and that isconfigured to display, on the map, a current location of the emergencyvehicle as provided by the emergency vehicle location informationobtained from the emergency vehicle location signal received by thereceiver unit when the receiver unit is in communication range withrespect to the transmitter unit, wherein the map display displays theemergency vehicle as an icon on the map with a different visualcharacteristic when the emergency vehicle is determined to be at aparticular location relative to the motor vehicle.
 2. The emergencyvehicle alert system according to claim 1, wherein the emergency vehicleis one of a police vehicle, a fire station vehicle, and a school bus. 3.The emergency vehicle alert system according to claim 1, furthercomprising: an audible warning unit that is configured to output anaudible alarm within a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle whenthe emergency vehicle location signal is received by the receiver unit.4. The emergency vehicle alert system according to claim 3, wherein theaudible warning unit is configured to output computer-generated speechthat provides information with respect to a particular street locationand moving direction of the emergency vehicle with respect to the motorvehicle.
 5. An emergency vehicle alert system for an emergency vehiclecomprising: a GPS receiving unit that is configured to receive at leastthree different GPS signals from at least three different GPS satellitesand to determine emergency vehicle location information of the emergencyvehicle as a result thereof; a transmitter unit that is configured totransmit the emergency vehicle location information by way of anemergency vehicle location signal that includes the emergency vehiclelocation information; a receiving unit that is configured to receive asignal from at least one other emergency vehicle that includesinformation as to a current location of the other emergency vehicle; acontroller that is configured to determine a latitude and longitudeposition of the emergency vehicle based on the at least three differentGPS signals, and to determine a latitude and longitude position of theother emergency vehicle based on the received signal; and a map displaythat is configured to display, on a map, a current location of theemergency vehicle and the other emergency vehicle, wherein the mapdisplay displays the other emergency vehicle as an icon on the map witha different visual characteristic when the other emergency vehicle isdetermined to be at a particular location relative to the emergencyvehicle.
 6. The emergency vehicle alert system according to claim 5,wherein the emergency vehicle is one of a police vehicle, a fire stationvehicle, and a school bus.
 7. The emergency vehicle alert systemaccording to claim 5, further comprising: an audible warning unit thatis configured to output an audible alarm within a passenger compartmentof the emergency vehicle when the signal output by the other emergencyvehicle is received by the emergency vehicle.
 8. The emergency vehiclealert system according to claim 7, wherein the audible warning unit isconfigured to output computer-generated speech that provides informationwith respect to a particular street location and moving direction of theother emergency vehicle with respect to the emergency vehicle.
 9. Anemergency vehicle alert system that is provided on a motor vehicle, thesystem comprising: a GPS receiving unit that is configured to receive atleast three different GPS signals from at least three different GPSsatellites and to determine vehicle location information of the motorvehicle as a result thereof; a receiver unit that is configured toreceive an emergency vehicle location signal output by an emergencyvehicle; and a map display that is configured to display, on a map, acurrent location of the motor vehicle as provided by the vehiclelocation information as determined by the GPS receiving unit, and thatis configured to display, on the map, a current location of theemergency vehicle as obtained from the emergency vehicle location signalreceived by the receiver unit when the receiver unit is in communicationrange with respect to the emergency vehicle, wherein the map displaydisplays the emergency vehicle as an icon on the map with a differentvisual characteristic when the emergency vehicle is determined to bewithin a predetermined distance from the motor vehicle as compared towhen the emergency vehicle is determined to be greater than thepredetermined distance from the motor vehicle.
 10. The emergency vehiclealert system according to claim 9, wherein the emergency vehicle is oneof a police vehicle, a fire station vehicle, and a school bus.
 11. Theemergency vehicle alert system according to claim 9, further comprising:an audible warning unit that is configured to output an audible alarmwithin a passenger compartment of the motor vehicle when the emergencyvehicle location signal is received by the receiver unit.
 12. Theemergency vehicle alert system according to claim 9, wherein the audiblewarning unit is configured to output computer-generated speech thatprovides information with respect to a particular street location andmoving direction of the emergency vehicle with respect to the motorvehicle.
 13. An emergency vehicle alert method that provides informationas to a location of an emergency vehicle to a motor vehicle, the methodcomprising: receiving, by the emergency vehicle, at least threedifferent GPS signals from at least three different GPS satellites, anddetermining emergency vehicle location information of the emergencyvehicle as a result thereof; transmitting, by the emergency vehicle, theemergency vehicle location information by way of an emergency vehiclelocation signal; receiving, by the motor vehicle, at least threedifferent GPS signals from at least three different GPS satellites, anddetermining vehicle location information of the motor vehicle as aresult thereof; receiving, when the motor vehicle is within apredetermined distance of the emergency vehicle, the emergency locationsignal output by the emergency vehicle; displaying, on a map, a) acurrent location of the motor vehicle as a first icon on the map asdetermined by the vehicle location information, and b) a currentlocation of the emergency vehicle as a second icon on the map asdetermined from information in the emergency vehicle location signal,wherein the second icon has a different visual characteristic when theemergency vehicle is determined to be at a particular location relativeto the motor vehicle.
 14. The method according to claim 13, wherein theemergency vehicle is one of a police vehicle, a fire station vehicle,and a school bus.
 15. The method according to claim 13, furthercomprising: outputting an audible alarm within a passenger compartmentof the motor vehicle when the emergency vehicle location signal isreceived by the motor vehicle.
 16. The method according to claim 15,wherein the audible alarm provides information with respect to aparticular street location and moving direction of the emergency vehiclewith respect to the motor vehicle.
 17. An emergency vehicle alert systemfor providing information to a motor vehicle with respect to aparticular nonautomotive location, the system comprising: a first GPSreceiving unit that is provided at the particular nonautomotive locationand that is configured to receive at least three different GPS signalsfrom at least three different GPS satellites and to determine theparticular nonautomotive location as a result thereof; a transmitterunit that is provided at the nonautomotive particular location and thatis configured to transmit an output signal including first informationcorresponding to the particular nonautomotive location and secondinformation corresponding to what type of emergency situation exists atthe particular nonautomotive location; a second GPS receiving unit thatis provided on the motor vehicle and that is configured to receive atleast three different GPS signals from at least three different GPSsatellites and to determine vehicle location information of the motorvehicle as a result thereof; a receiver unit that is provided on themotor vehicle and that is configured to receive the output signal of thetransmitter unit; and a map display, provided on the motor vehicle, thatis configured to display, on a map, a current location of the motorvehicle as provided by the vehicle location information, and that isconfigured to display, on the map, the particular nonautomotive locationas obtained by the receiver unit when the receiver unit is incommunication range with respect to the transmitter unit, wherein themap display displays an icon at a map location corresponding to theparticular nonautomotive location, the icon being representative of thetype of emergency situation existing at the particular nonautomotivelocation.
 18. The system according to claim 17, wherein the type ofemergency situation corresponds to a temporary work zone.
 19. The systemaccording to claim 18, wherein the transmitter unit is movable toanother nonautomotive location when the temporary work zone moves to theanother nonautomotive location, so as to represent a current location ofthe temporary work zone on the map display.
 20. The system according toclaim 17, wherein the map display displays text.
 21. A vehicle alertsystem for providing information as to a location of a first vehicle toa second vehicle, the system comprising: a first GPS receiving unit thatis provided on the first vehicle and that is configured to receive atleast three different GPS signals from at least three different GPSsatellites and to determine first vehicle location information of thefirst vehicle as a result thereof; a transmitter unit that is providedon the first vehicle and that is configured to transmit the firstvehicle location information by way of a first vehicle location signalthat includes the first vehicle location information; a second GPSreceiving unit that is provided on the second vehicle and that isconfigured to receive at least three different GPS signals from at leastthree different GPS satellites and to determine second vehicle locationinformation of the second vehicle as a result thereof; a receiver unitthat is provided on the second vehicle and that is configured to receivethe first vehicle location signal out nut by the transmitter unit of thefirst vehicle; and a map display, provided on the second vehicle, thatis configured to display, on a map, a current location of the secondvehicle as provided by the second vehicle location information, and thatis configured to display, on the map, a current location of the firstvehicle as provided by the first vehicle location information obtainedfrom the first vehicle location signal received by the receiver unitwhen the receiver unit is in communication range with respect to thetransmitter unit, wherein the map display includes a visual indicatorwhen the first vehicle is determined to be at a particular locationrelative to the second vehicle, wherein the visual indicator correspondsto a red line provided on the map display to indicate a future path ofthe first vehicle.
 22. A vehicle alert system according to claim 21,wherein the first vehicle is an emergency vehicle, and the secondvehicle is one of a motor vehicle and another emergency vehicle.
 23. Avehicle alert system for providing information as to a location of afirst vehicle to a second vehicle, the system comprising: a first GPSreceiving unit that is provided on the first vehicle and that isconfigured to receive at least three different GPS si signals from atleast three different GPS satellites and to determine first vehiclelocation information of the first vehicle as a result thereof; atransmitter unit that is provided on the first vehicle and that isconfigured to transmit the first vehicle location information by way ofa first vehicle location signal that includes the first vehicle locationinformation; a second GPS receiving unit that is provided on the secondvehicle and that is configured to receive at least three different GPSsignals from at least three different GPS satellites and to determinesecond vehicle location information of the second vehicle as a resultthereof; a receiver unit that is provided on the second vehicle and thatis configured to receive the first vehicle location signal output by thetransmitter unit of the first vehicle; and a map display, provided onthe second vehicle, that is configured to display, on a map, a currentlocation of the second vehicle as provided by the second vehiclelocation information, and that is configured to display, on the map, acurrent location of the first vehicle as provided by the first vehiclelocation information obtained from the first vehicle location signalreceived by the receiver unit when the receiver unit is in communicationrange with respect to the transmitter unit, wherein the map displayincludes a visual indicator when the first vehicle is determined to beat a particular location relative to the second vehicle, and wherein thevisual indicator corresponds to an icon representing the first vehiclethat changes depending on the position of the first vehicle relative tothe second vehicle.
 24. The emergency vehicle alert system according toclaim 23, wherein the icon changes color depending on the position ofthe first vehicle relative to the second vehicle.
 25. A vehicle alertsystem for providing information as to a location of a first vehicle toa second vehicle, the system comprising: a first GPS receiving unit thatis provided on the first vehicle and that is configured to receive atleast three different GPS signals from at least three different GPSsatellites and to determine first vehicle location information of thefirst vehicle as a result thereof; a transmitter unit that is providedon the first vehicle and that is configured to transmit the firstvehicle location information by way of a first vehicle location signalthat includes the first vehicle location information; a second GPSreceiving unit that is provided on the second vehicle and that isconfigured to receive at least three different GPS signals from at leastthree different GPS satellites and to determine second vehicle locationinformation of the second vehicle as a result thereof; a receiver unitthat is provided on the second vehicle and that is configured to receivethe first vehicle location signal output by the transmitter unit of thefirst vehicle and a map display, provided on the second vehicle, that isconfigured to display, on a map, a current location of the secondvehicle as provided by the second vehicle location information, and thatis configured to display, on the map, a current location of the firstvehicle as provided by the first vehicle location information obtainedfrom the first vehicle location signal received by the receiver unitwhen the receiver unit is in communication range with respect to thetransmitter unit, wherein the map display includes a visual indicatorwhen the first vehicle is determined to be at a particular locationrelative to the second vehicle, wherein the visual indicator correspondsto an icon representing the first vehicle that changes depending on aspeed of the first vehicle relative to the second vehicle.
 26. Theemergency vehicle alert system according to claim 25, wherein the iconchanges color depending on the speed of the first vehicle relative tothe second vehicle.
 27. A vehicle alert system for providing informationas to a location of a first vehicle to a second vehicle, the systemcomprising: a first GPS receiving unit that is provided on the firstvehicle and that is configured to receive at least three different GPSsignals from at least three different GPS satellites and to determinefirst vehicle location information of the first vehicle as a resultthereof; a transmitter unit that is provided on the first vehicle andthat is configured to transmit the first vehicle location information byway of a first vehicle location signal that includes the first vehiclelocation information; a second GPS receiving unit that is provided onthe second vehicle and that is configured to receive at least threedifferent GPS signals from at least three different GPS satellites andto determine second vehicle location information of the second vehicleas a result thereof; a receiver unit that is provided on the secondvehicle and that is configured to receive the first vehicle locationsignal output by the transmitter unit of the first vehicle; and a mapdisplay, provided on the motor vehicle, that is configured to display,on a map, a current location of the second vehicle as provided by thesecond vehicle location information, and that is configured to display,on the map, a current location of the first vehicle as provided by thefirst vehicle location information obtained from the first vehiclelocation signal received by the receiver unit when the receiver unit isin communication range with respect to the transmitter unit, wherein themap display displays the first vehicle as an icon on the map with adifferent visual characteristic when the first vehicle is determined tobe within a predetermined distance from the second vehicle.